By Sukant Deepak

New Delhi, Jan 3 (IANS): Hoping that the post-Pandemic high continues and is not eclipsed by the fear of yet another wave, singer Vidya Shah, who has been performing at multiple venues across the country for several months now, has a consistent rhythm for 2023 set in place.

"Besides some upcoming performances, I am working on a couple of projects including continuing on 'Women on Record', a celebration of women in the gramophone era. Besides, my series on the rendition of Begum Akhtar's works will complete 10 years in 2023. I am doing a concert centered around that wherein will be weaved anecdotes of Akhtar's life. It will be about honouring her as an artist, and her life as well," she tells IANS.

Though initially trained in Carnatic music, she later received guidance in the North Indian genres of Khayal (from Shubha Mudgal and Mujahid Hussain Khan), Thumri Dadra, and Ghazal (from Shanti Hiranand). Shah has performed at several prestigious national and international forums, including the Tansen Samaroh in Gwalior, The Kennedy Centre in Washington D.C., The Asia Society in New York and the British Museum in London.

Also planning to work with historian William Dalrymple on his book 'The Anarchy', she is editing a collection of essays to be published next year centered around journeys of women in studios, the making of entertainment, theatre, gramophones, and talkies. "Plus, I am starting out a short research process; an audio archive on songs and folk narratives related to the freedom movements of 1947 and 1857."

Known for bending genres and experimenting consistently, Shah says it is a driving force for her and adds value to her work. "It introduces me to new research and the sheer richness of our culture. Besides, it is in the nature of our arts; especially music -- it is so rooted in anecdotes... there are so many stories, and they are extremely important to me. It brings me closer to the audience."

The singer has been actively involved with social issues -- in 1991 she was Programme Fellow at, Indo-German Social Service Program (IGSSS) and later was an activist with Khedut Mazdoor Chetna Sanghatan (Rights based Trade Union for Agricultural Laborers) in Madhya Pradesh. Besides being the founder member of Paridhi Research - a rights-based women's organisation working on reproductive and sexual health with a focus on birth control methods, she was the Programme Coordinator with Naz Foundation (India) Trust.

"The social journey has been extremely fruitful. Music or any kind of art is so socially embedded even in folk narratives and I cannot see them in isolated silos. My father-in-law, Haku Shah would always say that there is culture in everything. There is art happening everywhere, in each instant. And what excites me about all this are the possibilities of inumerable connections," she concluded.